Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1887-12-01
a,Ind Tome wonderful Gift

Augusta ga News.
Since the recent action OF the courts
in taking Blind Tom from thecustody
of Mr.. Bethune, his former lie long
friend. manager and protector, mas
brought him so prominently before
the public in the ne Newspapers, afewi
concerning his childhood by one VINO
knew him then may not prove unln-
teresting. He was born near the Guy
of Columbus, Muscogee county, Ga.'
of slave parents, the property OF Cen
eral James n. Bethune, at that time
editor and proprietor of a newspaper
called Corner Stone, but IN exactly
what year / don't know, as ne
was some SIX or eight years
or it may be q httie oiueL'
when I first met him in 1892.
NV first meeting with him was N
this wise: / had just married lev
months previously, and one i Zen.
eraI Bethune's daughters had been one
OF our bridesmaids. Oh our return
from a Northern our we were invited
TO dine at General Bethune's. During
the day music was proposed, and up,
on the piano and flute my wife n
| nlaved a tune which we heard for the
first time at n Of the theaters IN
philadelphia. At the first sound OF
the music Tom came rushing into
narlcr in aslngle garment, so common
among the little niggers in the South,
and while the music was going on he
fell down upon the floor. rolled over,
turned sumersaults, clapped his hands,
groaned, and went through divers
motions, really more as II he were IN
pain than experiencing emotions oil
pleasure. As soon, however, az the
last note was played he sprang up,
rushed to my wife and pushing at her,
cried out eagerly
"MIss Fannie'''-he knew her we'll
"please git away; want ter play daf
tune" !,
And jumping upon the piano stool
he played it off perfectly, although 1
knew he had never heard it until that
moment, for it had only been recently
published, and had not yet come
South. To test him, then, others
PLAYED tunes he had never heard, and
he would immediately play them of
with both hands. just as he heard
them. He seems to have lost all
sounds, whether musical Or harsh.
| He loved to do the churning for the
family, lust to hear the monotonous
sounds OF the dasher in the churn.
He has been known to pinch and
otherwise tease babies just TO hear
them cry.
One habit OF his seems to SAVIOR a
good deal OF romance, yet 1T is true.
Being blind, he would stay away from
home, listening to the song OF birds as
they fitted from tree to tree, till he
would get lost in the woods, unable
to find his way back. Upon such oc.
casions the most practicable way to
find him would be for Mr.. John Beth
une, his first manager, to go out IN
the woods, and play his flute, when
Tom would hear it, come to the
sound, and thus get back home.
Although idiotie. he was even at
that early age endowed with a won
derful memory. After spending the
day at General Bethune's, as related
above, it was over six years before /
saw him again. The war was going
on. and one day on taking a train |
unexpectedly found John Bethune
with Tom on the train. / addressed
Mr.. Bethune and then Tom, not
dreaming that he would recognize me,
when, to my infinite surprise, be
said
How dye. Mr.. Sharp; how's Miss
Fannie?"
To which I said: "Why, Tom, how
do you know me so well?"
He replied: ooh, / know you, en-
Miss Fannie. too; don't you know
when you was st our house and play
ed dis tuner and he whistled the very
tune mentioned above.
On that trip ] discovered how the
absence of sight had rendered all his
other faculties more acute, for as we
dashed along at perhaps thirty miles
an hour he could always tell whether
we were passing woods or open fields,
houses, cuts, embankments, bridges
and almost anything else. / remem-
Der we entered a small village on the
railroad, when / asked Tom what was
on the outside, to which he promptly
replied: "a heap OF houses"